DONALDSON v. Tony Normand, Federal Agent (F.B.O.P.) Defendant - Appellee. (2021)

In our panel opinion in this case, we held: “[p]unitive damages are not available to prisoners under the PLRA, absent the demonstration of physical injury that satisfies 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e)’s physical injury requirement, and this applies even to constitutional claims.” See Donaldson v. GEO Group, Inc., et al., 843 F. App'x 161 (11th Cir, 2021). In so holding, we followed our prior panel precedent of Al-Amin v. Smith, 637 F.3d 1192, 1198–99 (11th Cir. 2011).

Recently, the Eleventh Circuit heard en banc in Hoever v. Marks, 993 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2021), the identical issue raised before us in Donaldson. Specifically, our court considered “whether the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(e), bar[s] punitive damages for constitutional claims, including First Amendment claims, without a showing of physical injury?” Because our court answered that question in the negative, we sua sponte vacate our panel opinion in Donaldson as well as vacate the district court's order dismissing Donaldon's Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S. Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), action for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and remand this case to the district court for further consideration in light of this court's en banc holding in Hoever.

VACATED AND REMANDED.

PER CURIAM: